Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Alas, but sometimes, on more than one occasion, you find yourself in the shithouse of life, face down.

To what extent you have contributed to the mess at hand is immaterial, for it is what it is. Panic overwhelms you and quickly spawns depression, anger and despair. Your judgement becomes seriously impaired and the danger of your desperation is the obsesive compulsion to act impulsively and erroneously. That's when things can easily veer out of control. So, how do you deal with such a predicament?

First, realize that your decision making process is off the track. You will act at your peril. Accordingly, stop the rush to immediately resolve things. Shut down that most complicated of all computors: your brain. Watch a movie, read a book, surf the Internet--do anything that will allow you to mentally and emotionally shift into neutral and begin to re-fuel.

Second, understand that there is nothing more you can do, at this moment. Adopt a fatalistic attitude: what will be, will be. Stop swimming against the tide. You've hit rock bottom. Now, fall further through the floor. Invite fate to take over. Turn things off and get a good night's sleep.
You will awaken into a relative state of calm. The anxiety is diminished or gone because you are not allowing yourself to care anymore. You ask yourself,"Have I done everything I can to maximize my chances of pulling out of this?" If your answer is "yes", you shower, put clothes on your body, eat something and do what you have to do on that particular day in your life. In other words, you function, as best you can.

And, someway, somehow, your problem will alleviate or be resolved.

All because you fought off the demons of desperation.

All because you rebooted your soul.

All because you let you heal you.

All because you climbed aboard an ocean's wave and simply let it take you.

Friday, October 5, 2012

I come with no claim of political expertise, for I don't have it. I'm just a citizen offering my opinion on the first Obama-Romney debate.
The bottom line of all that I hear and read is that the President "choked." It was a moment of great stress and it is claimed that he was bested by Governor Romney. He failed to seize the night; he missed rebutting false or misleading statements; he looked befuddled---and so on, and so on. To which I ask,"So what!"

What are we to draw from this lackluster performance?

"If he can't stand up to Romney, he can't stand up to foreign Heads of State."

"Romney is more intelligent and smarter (there is a difference) and, therefore, more fit to be president."

"Denver's "mile high" altitude threw Obama off-stride. He should have spent more pre-debate time in that city."

"He swung and missed on pitches lobbed right over the plate."...........and so on, and so on.

Perhaps Romney was better prepped with clever zingers successfully designed to throw Obama off balance. But again, who cares? Their opposing positions on social issues remain constant. Their core values are still aligned with different social and economic groups. If voters can be persuaded to switch their vote on the basis of who "won" the damn thing, we are in a sorry mess.

The molds have hardened for each man. They have substantially different outlooks on almost everything, and they ain't gonna change.

Consider the contest (to use a lawyerly phrase) on its merits. Go for substance, not form. Maybe, just maybe, Romney turns out to be the better debater. That's no connecting link to who's got the righter stuff.

Stay focused on the most important issue. They both are patriotic Americans with littlle or no difference in foreign policy. It's their contrasting positions on social and economic issues which confront the nation's decision making process.

And this has nothing to do with who is the better debater.

In almost every closing argument, I would implore the jurors to keep their eyes on the ball.

About Me

worked my way through college and law school as a stand-up comic. 36 years as criminal defense attorney followed by 13 years on the bench as a Massachusetts District Court Judge. Developed a sense of timing from stand-up which has been invaluable in a courtroom. Accept it: a trial IS show biz. For more, Google "gerald alch."